


Peace, Love, and Comic-Con

by GibbyGohan



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:35:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24462865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GibbyGohan/pseuds/GibbyGohan
Summary: When your friends invite you to Comic-Con for the weekend, can you really say no? You never know what characters you might meet.
Relationships: Female Lavellan/Cullen Rutherford
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Peace, Love, and Comic-Con

**Author's Note:**

> Been a lurker long enough. Posting my first one-shot to get back into writing. Kind suggestions welcome!

Grace Lyon really had no idea what to expect this weekend. Her feelings were a mix of excitement and worry, both for experiencing Comic-Con as well as the unusual gusto with which she had accepted her friend Chloe's invitation to attend.

 _Do I actually know that many comics...?_ She began to doubt herself. _Pfft, it's not only about comic books at Comic-Con, there's tons of other stuff there too, right? ...right? I actually have no idea, come to think of it..._

While trying to figure out what exactly was involved at Comic-Con, she had to figure out what exactly she was going to wear today. 

Her phone buzzed and she knew Chloe was calling to see where she was. She picked up.

"Chloe, I promise I’m almost ready!" Grace shouted as she put her phone on speaker.

"Liar. I bet you're not even out of bed yet. Grace we _have to go_. Everyone's here, dressed, and not eager for the traffic to get worse,” Chloe replied.

Unsatisfied with herself, for yet again procrastinating research on a costume, Grace threw on a long woolen dress from a past Halloween party, pinned a necklace as a diadem around her forehead, and found some brown boots. _Lamest fake-elf ever,_ she thought as she looked in the mirror on her way out of the apartment.

As she made it to the parking lot, she was not surprised to be greeted by her friends impeccably dressed as Magneto, Storm, Wolverine, and... Ron Weasley? _Charlie always does his own thing..._ She snickered as they all piled into Chloe's car.

After not-too-bad-for-California traffic and parking, they made it through to the convention center lobby and stopped briefly to huddle.

"Guys, you know the game plan:" Chloe said, "We hit up the usual booths, but then we've got to get in line for the X-men panel because I want to get as close to Halle Berry as possible. You _know_ she wasn't here last year." Magneto and Wolverine nodded their heads and voiced agreement.

Ron Weasley however, let out a big sigh, "J.K. Rowling is announcing some new ideas for books at the _same_ time though, we've been over this!" He looked around for support, but eventually threw his hands up as the others shifted their feet, looked away, or folded their arms in super-human defiance. Charlie rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself unhappily.

While this "group" decision was going on, Grace was too distracted looking around at the sheer number of people and cosplays to provide any support to either side. She had only bought a ticket for one day of the convention, unlike her friends who had bought every badge and access pass there was.

Chloe came up to her dazed companion, "Grace, I know it's your first time, so you're welcome to stay with us throughout the day. But if there's anything you want to see in particular let us know too, and we'll see what we can fit in the day."

"I'm honestly good to go anywhere," Grace smiled. "I don't even know where to start and I would hate to slow you guys down... I'm sure I can find something to entertain myself with in the slew of fandoms here."

Chloe looked over at Charlie who was arguing with the other two. "Why don't you and Charlie go to the Harry Potter presentation...," she said loudly enough to stop the quarreling companions, " _and..._ " she added while looking pointedly at Charlie, "if Grace gets bored of it, she can meet back up with us during lunch."

"Yess!" Charlie beamed, "That sounds like a great idea. Grace let's start making our way over and we can check out the booths on that side of the center if we have time."

Grace was laughing as Charlie who, wand and stuffed-Scabbers in one hand, towed her behind him through the throng of people almost as soon as Chloe had proposed the idea. She waved back at her friends and embraced Charlie's excitement. 

Once they arrived near the location of the panel room, Charlie scouted the line-up area and looked around for fellow Hogwarts costumes, which apparently were everywhere.

"Alright, so far so good. We have about 20 minutes until they let us lineup. So...let's check out that VR Hamster Wheel booth we passed!" Again Charlie grabbed Grace's hand and pulled her toward a bright white and orange exhibit.

It was just so much to take in. Shows she knew about, comics she'd heard of but was unfamiliar with, and then games and costumes and fandoms she had absolutely no comprehension of. Apparently Charlie didn't know what this VR was about either, despite his enthusiasm to visit and test it out. It was pretty entertaining to watch, especially when a very padded Pikachu strapped on the gear and tried to remain balanced while running in the virtual wheel.

While waiting for Charlie to have his turn, several individuals had approached Grace to ask her lore questions or if a DLC was to be released for such-and-such game. She thought they were teasing her costume, until she finally saw there was a large LotR booth set up kitty-corner behind the Hamster Wheel where she was standing. After that she didn't feel too shabby about her hodge-podge costume. 

Eventually it was time to line up for the Rowling panel, and Charlie immediately regretted not getting there sooner as people had begun to congregate even before they officially opened the line. Grace obviously was excited to see J.K. Rowling and to hear what new things were coming to the Wizarding World. However, she thought that Charlie's entire day was made by being in that room. By the time Q&A came around, she was getting a little bit tired of hearing the same questions phrased differently about subjects Rowling already addressed.

Turning to Charlie she whispered tentatively, "I think I need to get some air... My brain is... malfunctioning a little from all of this." She quirked her eyebrow to see his reaction.

Not breaking focus from the microphone, Charlie mumbled, "Yea, yea. Go get something to eat."

Grace laughed a little, and left him with a quick, "I'll meet up afterwards, ok?"

As soon as she got out of the conference room the air was several degrees cooler and certainly fresher. _Cosplay,_ she thought, _ought to be more breathable for some and less breathable for others..._

Speaking of food, her stomach was starting to grumble. _I think I saw a falafel place somewhere, or maybe it was tacos?_ As she wandered around in search of food, she had fun just people-watching and admiring many of the handmade costumes. At one point she entertained the thought of holding off on food to get in line for her SuperWhoLock fandom, but there were just too many girls clamoring to meet the actors and profess their undying love and devotion. _At least I’m restraining myself from flinging my body at Benedict Cumberbatch. I try to keep most of my girlish squeals concealed in my apartment. Although if I just happened to bump into Jensen Ackles..._

Eventually the smell of food redirected her attentions, and she decided any food was better than no food at this point.

While enjoying her "gourmet" hot dog and Caprisun, she noticed the BioWare table wasn't too far off. A very cute Iron Bull and a very buff Dorian had caught her eye and she watched as they made their way to the booth. _Why didn't I think of dressing up as the Inquisitor?_ She made a mental note to visit the BioWare booth next. But first, a brain recharge.

Most people who come to conventions like these are driven and fueled by adrenaline. At least that's how her friends were. Grace, however interested she may be, required frequent rests, if naps weren't possible. And snacks. Multiple snacks, throughout the day. 

Watching and listening and bumping into all these people was exhausting and exciting at the same time. Surprisingly it required a lot of brain power to just take it all in. It was like a beehive: constant movement, constant noise, but an underlying structure that kept things orderly...for the most part. _Maybe this is what it would be like to be part of the Inquisition? Never really thought about it being this tangible._

A few people came to sit down nearby on the left wall, and apparently had the same idea of a nap as Grace did. She stood up to throw away her trash, and when she returned they had leaned back against the wall and placed booklets over their faces. _To dim the lights no doubt. What a wonderful idea._ A quick glance at her phone showed her that Charlie's panel was going to end soon, but she knew he was going to try and get autographs afterwards anyway, and most likely visit the WB table. _I have plenty of time to close my eyes before we're off standing in another line again. Maybe I can convince Charlie to come to the BioWare table. I mean he does like Mass Effect so..._

Before following suit and covering her face with her kirtle's hood, she set an alarm for 20 minutes. _Juuuust in case_ , she sniggered. At first it was quite tough to tune out all the noise and light still filtering through, not to mention getting comfortable _in these blasted plastic fold-up chairs!_ she grunted to herself. When she found a decent position, she tried to focus on hearing the furthest noise away which helped to calm her down and focus and relax her mind enough to dampen all other noises.

It was a trick she had learned in college, being surrounded by loud customers at the small-but-lively restaurant in her hometown. _Focus on hearing the quietest noise, or the furthest noise,_ she would think in her mind when she was getting overwhelmed or stressed out. _Then take a deep breath and go back out there to finish the job._

One of the things she enjoyed most about games, movies, books or anything else fictional was that it was a whole other world with little details to pause and enjoy. Moments where the beauty of a situation was appreciated, even in the toughest of times. How often had she read about a character's physical suffering or internal anguish, but at the same time also lapped up the depictions of where they were fighting or laying their loved one to rest? Some poets she read claimed to prefer simplicity in vocabulary and in description in order to allow the reader to not be influenced too much. Description was everything to a good story, but there was a fine balance between superfluous and lacking.

Her quest was always to find that "perfect phrase" or "perfect word" or "perfect idea", which really just displayed itself as procrastination and indecisiveness in her life. It's not that she _didn't_ want to accomplish things, it's just that she kept holding out for "the" thing/event/person/opportunity/moment. Having a good game to replay with as many different decisions as she wanted to make was an escape for her as much as it was a fulfillment of her attempts to find that fine balance in life. Even if it _was_ an alternate life.

Grace's mind was caught away in a free-flow of thoughts while she rested, and her ears were hyper-focused on listening to a squeaky screw shift back and forth somewhere in the vents above. In her spare time, she liked having these "zoned out" moments, where she could be fully present in her world, but also totally separate. She could focus on a noise and calm her mind, instead of being over-sensitized. Some of her best thoughts came during or right after these mini meditations. _A tranquil mind is easier to control because of its freedom._

“Hey, wait a second…I recognize you." The boisterous comment cut sharply through her zen. "You’re the Commander aren’t you!”

Whoever was sitting near the wall let out an annoyed sigh, replying somewhat sarcastically, "As you can see".

Grace had tried for a few brief and bitter seconds to get back into zen-mode, but the eager intruder had launched into his theories on Cullen’s future role in the Inquisition and how cool it would be to hear more stories about the years after Kirkwall. She groaned and sat up, pushing back her hood slightly to glare over at the offender and his crew who were blocking most of the left row.

The individual referred to as "Cullen" stayed silent, elbows on knees from what she could see. _He must've been trying to nap when Mario & Luigi bounced in. _ She stretched her arms and arched her back. _Charlie..._ She pulled her phone out of her satchel. _It already went off? Or...did I not hit start?_ Either way, she knew she was late now, as it had _definitely_ been over half an hour. _No call from Charlie though, so that's good, right?_

She really did not want to get up. But sitting on the fold-up chair was no longer an option. Plus, it wasn't exactly quiet here anymore. As Grace got up slowly, she glanced to her left to try to give a commiserating smile to this ‘Cullen’, but she was struck with two very different feelings: First, the sober smile she had on her face was immediately wiped away, and replaced with a smirk and a chuckle, as Mario really was undeterred by Cullen's crossed arms and stone face; Second, while she was still amused by the situation, she was genuinely surprised at how alike that individual looked to the video game Cullen Rutherford. _A little too alike...That can't be a costume or makeup. It's too good. He's not even dressed like Cullen, but he looks JUST like him somehow._

Grace was so confused, she had stopped in her tracks thinking and was just staring at Cullen, unaware of her surroundings. Unfortunately she wasn't so far away that her presence went unnoticed. The Cullen-look-alike turned his head and glanced at her. She started to blush at being caught, but her body did not move fast enough to get her out of view unsuspiciously. She shut her gaped mouth and inhaled sharply, looking around her on where she could go. 

Internally dying and embarrassed at being caught like that, she didn't quite care where she went, as long as she got out of view quickly. She turned on her heels and walked confidently past the hot dog stand, and into the crowd. If being good at alluding was a real life skill, Grace would have liked to have thought she had it. But all she knew was from games, which may or may not really apply in reality. _But am I even being chased? Honestly Grace, why would they be chasing you?_ Her steps slowed a little, and she tried to calm her heartbeat and flustered mind. She breathed deeply and slowly, trying to be logical and not blow things out of proportion. 

_Those guys, Mario & Luigi were clearly talking to a strange Cullen-look-alike, and I am at Comic-Con, so everyone gets stared at awkwardly at some point, right? Right. Gosh, I am overthinking everything. Let it go... _

She wasn't really watching where she was walking, but just made sure she wove through mismatched groups of cosplayers and booths every now and then. She thought she heard her name called once, which made her turn around to look behind her. But as she saw none of her friends, she figured someone else must have the same name. Grace pulled herself over to a quiet end-booth, and got out her phone to check for messages and calls.

 _Nothing from Charlie._ And nothing from her friends.

But there was a lovely text from a name she'd rather have left in the dust, especially today. She shut her eyes briefly. _I knew I should have left my phone at home, good riddance._ She inhaled shallowly before reading the first line, eyes narrowing:

 **Kyle** : "Grace I know when we talked last time, we didn't leave on good terms. I promise that..."

*DELETED*

Her eyes rolled and she let out a loud "Arghh," as she shoved her phone frustratedly back into her satchel. "I am SO DONE. Honestly. what. the. heck." As she looked up, she tried to get her physical bearings, while her head began spinning.

 _"_ Where _is_ Charlie??" she asked aloud, growing more annoyed. The several people next to her turned to look at her, but quickly turned away when they saw her scowl.

Grace started to head back to the main hallway so she could find the group's designated meeting place to regroup. As she was walking, her fists were clenched and she could feel her body tensing up. _It's not fair. Of all the days... As if a text is good enough anyway._ As she wove her way, groups and booths blurred in her vision. She realized she felt something dripping down her cheek. She paused briefly to wipe her face with both hands. Thankfully she did have a hood, which she promptly pulled down to cover her face before she arrived at the meeting place. 

_The last thing I need right now is to have a breakdown here. Stoopp Grace._ She could feel herself starting to lose control of her emotions, and the increased heart rate didn't help. _Why am I even opening his texts still?? I need to block him. On everything. How have I not done that yet anyway..._

She was torn between going outside to get fresh air, trying to go into zen-mode again, or delving into her accounts to delete and block Kyle for good. Her phone started buzzing.

 _Oh finally, Charlie…_ She pulled back her hood and reached into her bag.

She looked down as she swiped to the right, and realized it wasn't Charlie calling her.

"Grace! You answered. My gosh, do you know how hard you are to get a hold of?"

She stayed silent, but could hear the person on the other line talk loudly even before she brought the phone up to her ear.

"Grace? I can hear a lot of noise in the background...Can you hear me?"

Her eyes were closed when she answered, "...I can hear you. Why are you calling me?"

"Didn't you get my messages? I've been trying to talk to you about everything going on between us..."

"There _is no us_ , Kyle. I thought I made that clear." _Not clear enough apparently_.

"Grace cummon', I haven't even seen you since you got back to California. Can we just get together to talk? Maybe tonight?"

"No, I'm not at home. And I don't think there's anything more to talk about."

"Of course there is! I want to explain what happened, so you..."

Ignoring the interruption, she continued, " _She_ made it pretty obvious who you were spending your time with while I've been at school. That's _just fine_ by me, Kyle. Stop calling me."

She heard a long sigh on the other end. "Grace, she's not as awful as you make her out to be. It wasn't even her fault."

"Kyle, I'll tell you the same thing I told you weeks ago: We started this together and ended this because of you. _S_ _he_ chose to be with you even _knowing_ that you were dating someone else. And you? Besides the fact that you are 100% to blame for cheating on me, have you even apologized for anything yet? NO. Why don't I answer your calls or texts? Because all you want to do is defend yourself.”

She heard Kyle scoff on the other end, but before he could mess with her mojo, she finished it off with, “Kyle, you're a jerk with low standards. Good luck with her."

She hung up the phone, not waiting for a response to her slight tirade.

By now, she had thrown her hood back and was pacing back and forth along the wall. There were undoubtedly tears spattered across her face and shoulders. Her head was pounding from the heated conversation and the equally heated woolen dress. _I need air._

She took several quick strides toward an emergency exit, pushed through to the beautifully fresh air, and walked to a partially shaded bench. She laid down across the bench, face in the sun trying to dry up her swollen face. She placed an arm over her eyes to dim the sunlight, and began her exercise in breathing and listening. It was quite difficult to calm her racing thoughts down enough to then focus on controlling her heart rate. 

She realized she didn't want more texts or calls coming in from Kyle. _He's gonna keep trying._ She sat up quickly and unlocked her phone. _Delete contact? Too easy. Blocked._ Then she turned off her phone and said good riddance to him again.

Grace was exhausted emotionally, but at the same time also vibrating with adrenaline. She felt like she wanted to scream but also melt away into the ground where she didn’t have to come into contact with anyone ever again. 

She tried to first focus on stopping the angry tears, and so closed her eyes and rubbed her face calmingly to work out the tension. The sun was warm on her head and shoulders, and her attempt at getting air was only partially successful. _Stale outside air is better than stale inside air. Could be stuck in the conference room at another panel again…_

“Oh, Charlie where have you been today? ...leaving me all alone…” She mumbled, as her head lay heavy in her hands. 

Grace stayed outside on the bench for some time, not worrying about missing out on the joviality of the convention. She wasn’t sure she could join in anyway. When she decided to get up to go back inside, it was mostly because it was getting too hot and bright outside. She passed through security again, and as her eyes blinked and adjusted to the darkened inside, she worked her way back to the meeting point bench. _I hope nobody is there yet. I’m probably not super enjoyable to be around right now._ Thankfully she saw she was alone.

She plopped down on the bench, shook off her shoes, and sat crossed legged with her head resting on the pillar. She decided to invest in people watching, so that when her friends did show up at the end of the day, she could contribute with interesting people she saw or funny anecdotes of overheard conversations. 

She sighed defeatedly, “If I were a stronger person, I’d be able to just let this go. _Jeeze, just let it go…_ I mean, this is the perfect place for distraction!”

As Grace was staring out into the crowd of booths and costumes, she noticed someone come to the fore and stop. Her eyes glanced over to see what had caught their attention. Her mind didn’t capture and transmit the information fast enough, but after a few seconds of staring at each other, she noticed it was the same buff guy from earlier who had gotten trapped by Mario & Luigi: the Cullen-look-alike. He was standing in the middle of the crowd facing her. She raised her eyebrows in question, but after realizing who it was, she nervously shifted her gaze somewhere else so he wouldn’t notice she was staring. 

_Wouldn’t notice I was staring? Who am I kidding? Not like I was trying though, but I could I guess… Distraction, right? I can be flirty...I think._ "Gosh, why am I so awkward..." She looked quickly around, pretending to be busy with her sleeves.

When her courage perked up, she cautiously moved her head and gaze back to where the stranger had stood, but was left unsatisfied when she didn’t see him there anymore. 

_“_ Hah! Well, that’s the story of my love life!” She sarcastically chucked to herself, as her search of the crowd proved fruitless. “Never the right timing.”

Suddenly someone leaned over next to her and stated boldly, “Ooh, love stories are quite my specialty! I do crave a good juicy romance...with murder and revenge...and frolicing. There must always be needless frolicing at the end.”

The man next to her had appeared out of nowhere it seemed. Grace was equally startled at his presence as she was embarrassed that he had heard her talking aloud to herself.

She laughed nervously, “Uhm, I uh, didn’t really mean to say that out loud. Sorry...”

“By no means, need you apologize,” the dark, lean and whiskered man offered. “I simply have a way of interjecting myself when I’m needed the most. And by the looks of you, it seems today I am drawn to the macabre.” He motioned to her spotted and sullen face.

With her eyes still slightly puffy and stained with mascara, she looked more like Sadako from The Ring than a renaissance Danielle DuLoncre. 

While the dark and handsome man had spoken to her, she had the opportunity to look him in the face. Grace frankly would not have cared about how she herself looked, except now under the scrutiny of this somewhat-familiar-and-precisely-dressed man, she felt she _could_ do something about her appearance. He looked so familiar, but she couldn’t place it. _Something’s different. But different from what?_

She continued to stare at him in between aimlessly wiping under her eyes. She was mostly doing it to appease his curious friendliness. But she kept trying to pinpoint how she knew him.

“Maker’s breath, Dorian, running around breaking hearts again?” 

Grace’s head spun to look at the newcomer. _That sounds like Cul…but wait…_ “Dorian...? Dorian Pavus?” Her brows furrowed as she looked back at the whiskered man questioningly. 

He raised an eyebrow at her, “Pavus?”

“You’re _not_ supposed to have this,” she waved in a circle around his well-manicured-but- _wrong_ beard. “You have a curly moustache. That’s like, your signature.”

He scoffed, “And who, may I ask, decides what style of facial hair I have? Last time I checked, I was the master of my own fashion. I haven’t had a moustache for, oh...never I suppose!”

Grace grew more confused. “Well, you...You’re supposed to be Dorian of house Pavus, right? I mean, that’s who you’re cosplaying at least. Unless you’re an AU Dorian...maybe a barista? Or a modern fashion designer?”

Both he and his companion looked at each other and laughed. Grace had almost forgotten about the newcomer. She looked at him now. 

It _was_ the same Cullen cosplayer from earlier when she had lunch. _They're probably doing a group costume_. Grace “Hmm’d” while in thought, wondering what other members of their “party” there were besides Cullen and Dorian.

They were all looking at each other, the three of them. 

“Do either of you have a tissue, by chance?” Grace asked.

Mr. Cullen-look-a-like patted his pockets, “I’m sorry, I don’t seem to have…”

He was cut short by the bearded-Dorian briskly pulling out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, presenting it to Grace as he bowed. “Here my lady, a kerchief to wipe those lovely eyes.”

She smiled up at the bowing man, “I can always count on Dorian to have exactly what I need. Such a reliable companion, thank you.” 

Dorian gave her a confused look, but nonetheless still extended his cloth, which she gratefully accepted.

“So I’m going to wager a guess,” she said, speaking to “Cullen” and wiping under her other eye. “You’re supposed to be the Commander, right? I mean, I saw you earlier today. It’s pretty obvious. You play him very well, especially with all that “Maker’s breath” stuff. And the hair is pretty good.”

He cocked his head, and looked between Grace and Dorian before answering. “Uhm, well in truth I’m not supposed to be anyone. I’m me. So I’m not sure if you’re mistaking me for someone else. Especially since you seem confused about Dorian as well.”

She laughed, “Alright, technically we’re all ourselves. I’m sure you’ve got your own life and your own hair and your own name…But here, we can be anyone we want to be! And it looks to me like you’re Cullen, minus the fur and armor. Unless of course, you have your coat somewhere else.”

Cullen folded his arms, looking more and more skeptically at her.

_Am I totally crazy right now? Because they’re both looking at me like I’m crazy...Is this a prank?_

“Do you even know who Commander Cullen is? You have to, I mean look at you! You’re a perfect replica. Look,” she stood up next to Cullen and looked out into the crowd and pointed once she found a group of teenagers all dressed as the different Advisors from the game. “That guy is just like you. That’s Cullen Rutherford, the one with the red coat with fur on the collar like a lion. The armor, your sword…and look! He’s even doing the neck scratching thing!” She looked back at him to see him smiling skeptically.

“You think we look the same?” He asked with one brow raised.

“So your make-up and wig are better than his. And your scar and muscles look pretty authentic too. Big deal. At least he’s wearing the right outfit. Cullen doesn't even come from a world where jeans or t-shirts exist. I mean, I would know, I spent 200 hours romancing him." She paused briefly to murmur, "Although there _was_ that one night with Blackwall…”

“Oh, you spent how many hours romancing me? Funny, I don’t seem to recall…” He and Dorian had a good chuckle at her now.

“Oh hush. Multiple play-throughs and a lot of cut scene replays. How could you not take every possible chance to make out with you on the battlements. It took a lot of time. Happy?” she asked, flushed in the face at admitting her apparent obsession. He only grinned more.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who are _you_ _supposed_ to be?” he asked.

Squirming, because she knew someone would ask her eventually, she still didn’t have an answer. “A woman?” she began, uncertain, “of noble birth. Out to seek her own adventures in the world. That’s all I got.” She threw up her arms.

“So not quite in a place to pass judgement on costumes and characters then, I see,” queried Dorian. 

Grace pursed her lips. “But I’m not trying to be anyone, whereas you both have clearly put in a lot of effort into your modern-day getups.”

Both Dorian and Cullen looked at each other, and down at themselves while shaking their heads. “My name _is_ Cullen, I’ll grant you that. But I’m no Rutherford or cape-wearing Commander.”

Exasperated, Grace didn’t know what else there was to say. Should she go into explaining all 3 games to them? Tell them their backstories to convince them she knew who they were? Or better yet, take them to the BioWare booth and have someone else back her up? It seemed a little futile now.

“Well, kinda-Cullen and sorta-Dorian, I guess I don’t really know who either of you are then.”

An awkward silence ensued, for what Grace felt like was minutes, but was probably only seconds. She was starting to think of what to do next, and how to casually leave, when Dorian spoke up.

“If you must know, my horrid middle name is Stefano. Children called me ‘Fano’ for short, and it almost ruined my blessed childhood if not for my captivating charm and good looks," Dorian sighed. "If you tell anyone about that name, I’ll send mercenaries after you. Naturally, of course.” With a bow and a quick wink to Grace, he strolled away into the crowd leaving her and Cullen alone.

This was something totally unexpected, Grace really didn’t know what she was supposed to say. 

“For as long as I’ve known Dorian, he’s always been tight lipped about his middle name. Rather odd of him to blurt it out now...” A bewildered Cullen was looking after the retreating Dorian. 

“Grace Vellan,” Grace stated.

“Hm?”

“Vellan. It’s my middle name. And I hate it. People always confused it with Helen. Or villain.” 

Cullen chuckled. “Ah, we’re all telling secrets now are we? Alright then. Mine’s Stanton.”

Grace smiled sheepishly, “Really?”

Turning to Grace with arms folded, Cullen asked, “Why, is that surprising?”

Laughing she replied, “Well, I thought I just told you that I spent 200 hours romancing Cullen Rutherford. So, seeing as apparently you’re his #2 fan, it makes sense that you’d change your name to match his. Minus the last name of course. Because that would be just a little over the top.”

“Hold on, his #2 fan?”

Grace smiled and blushed. “You can’t tell? Obviously, I’m his #1 fan. So you come in second place.” They both laughed at that, and Cullen motioned over to the bench behind them.

“Well Grace Vellan, if you're not going anywhere right now, why don’t we sit down. I’d love to hear more about why exactly, you’re so obsessed with me,” Cullen joked with a big grin. “Ah excuse me, obsessed with my look-alike, Mr. Rutherford.”

Grace mockingly scoffed and laughed, turning just a slightly darker shade of pink. _I can do this. He’s playful. And if he wants to roleplay as the Commander, I can joke around about the game._

“Why don’t you start by telling me who Mr. Rutherford is, and why you’re so drawn to him.”

Grace turned to look at Cullen sitting beside her, and smiled knowingly. His intentions were obvious, but she took the bait all the same and decided to play along. 

“Well, when I first met the curly-haired Templar, he was a lot younger than he is now. In fact, he was stationed in a mage tower and in charge of protecting me…” 

Grace went on to tell him about the three games. It felt like a test sometimes when he would ask her questions, but apparently Cullen really didn’t know much about _Cullen_ , odd as that was.

Eventually there was a loud crackle over the PA system. Grace jerked upright, not having noticed how close she and Cullen had leaned in together during her tale of romancing “Mr. Rutherford” as Cullen kept calling him.

An employee announced the event would be closing for the night.

_Please do not forget any personal items, and exit through the side doors. Comic-Con will continue tomorrow afternoon at 2pm. Please remember to bring your badges and ID’s…_

Grace and Cullen smiled at each other during the loud announcement and the ensuing bustle of people trickling out of stalls and conference rooms. Grace realized that she hadn’t seen her friends all day, as none of them had come to the meeting place. _Crap, how am I going to find them…? And I don’t want to leave Cullen yet either..._

“Is it that time already?” She chuckled embarrassed that she had spent so much time talking about a made-up character to a stranger, instead of getting to know the stranger himself. _Socially inept as usual,_ she chided herself.

Cullen looked down at his watch and agreed that the time had flown by. He smiled kindly at her, and stood to stretch and look through the crowd. 

_Good job Grace, you’ve probably bored him to death,_ she internally scolded herself. She unpacked her phone to turn it on again. _I forgot it was off. I hope Charlie hasn’t tried calling me,_ she thought with sudden dismay.

“So, uh...I think you’ve got some good insight there,” Cullen said absently, looking around.

Grace looked up at him.

“I mean, as far as what you know about Mr. Rutherford from the game, that is.” Cullen explained ambiguously.

Grace waited, not sure if this was just small talk, or if he was going somewhere with this.

“But what if I told you a little secret about him that you didn’t know?” Cullen turned to look quickly at her, with a sparkle in his eye.

She was confused, and cocked her head in question. Something about that devilish look made her suspicious and intrigued at the same time. 

They both looked around when someone called Grace’s name over the crowd. Grace turned and saw her friends a little ways off waving at her. _Not now! I just need a little more time…_

She looked back at Cullen, her anxiety rising, not knowing if or how she should introduce him to her group without them being blatantly obvious about her interest.

He smiled softly as he glanced briefly at the oncoming group, but then suddenly his face grew serious as he looked at her. He bent down, and whispered closely in her ear. 

“The character is based off of my life,” he said, tickling her ear with his whisper. 

Grace’s eyes grew wide, and her eyebrows shot up. 

He stayed there, leaning into her and continued, “If you’re willing to invest a few more hours into the romance, the Commander would like to take you to dinner.” He was smiling, and stayed there for only the briefest moment more before standing up straight again.

She could feel the blush of her life rising to her cheeks, and pounding in her chest. _So this is what it’s like to swoon..._

He was looking at her with a wicked smile that she couldn’t quite understand in her flustered state. _But if what he said was true, then he_ _has_ _been playing me!_

Grace could hear her group of friends coming up, and she quickly asked Cullen, “You’ll be here tomorrow?” She tried not to sound too desperate.

Cullen gave her a wink, and bowed in agreeance. Then he turned to leave and melted into the crowd so quickly, she couldn’t even enjoy watching him walk away.

Just before her friends got to her, she stood up and took a few steps toward the direction Cullen had gone. She saw nothing.

The chaos was growing, and it was not a current she could easily fight against. She only hoped he would truly show up again. All she had to do now, was to find another entrance ticket for tomorrow...


End file.
